Japan: still no news on Osaka and Nagasaki IR bids

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism still has no timetable for when a decision will be announced.

Japan.- There’s still no news on the Osaka and Nagasaki’s bids to host integrated resorts. Tetsuo Saito, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has said that a review committee is looking at the submissions but made no comment on their status or when a decision would be forthcoming.

The bids were submitted in April ahead of the deadline set by central government. In December 2020, the government outlined criteria for judging bids using a points scale of up to 1,000 for five key areas:

• The commitment of the IR to the Japanese travel industry (up to 450 points).
• The capacity to run a safe business (200 points).
• The national economic and social effects (150 points).
• Programmes to address gambling-related harm (150 points).
• The use of casino revenue for the public good (50 points).

In June, the Japanese government paper, “Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2022”, highlighted the importance of integrated resorts to the country. It suggested that the construction of IRs could reactivate tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic, which has paralysed the sector for two years.

Osaka has selected MGM-Orix as its partner for its IR bid. The consortium proposes to invest JPY1tn (US$9.1bn) and include three hotels providing approximately 2,500 rooms, a MICE facility measuring 68,000 square meters, a 3,500-seat theatre and various Japanese cultural experiences and retail facilities. It would employ about 15,000 people.

Nagasaki has chosen Casinos Austria International Japan Inc as its partner for its bid. The planned cost for the development is JPY438.3bn (US$3.8bn), including JPY175.3bn in equity costs.